On Sunday (25th February) night, five Hindu temples were vandalised in Bankra town in Howrah district of West Bengal. The development was confirmed on X (formerly Twitter) by BJP leader Suvendhu Adhikari.
In a tweet, he informed, “Last night miscreants vandalised 5 Sanatani Temples at Bankra; Howrah. The locals as a mark of protest are blockading rail lines. I am requesting Shri Praveen Kumar Tripathi (IPS); Commissioner of Howrah city police and DGP of West Bengal to arrest the culprits as quickly as possible.”
“Also kindly take steps to restore normalcy in the area and persuade the agitators to continue their rightful protests without blocking public transport. The continuous reluctance of the WB Police to take action against miscreants who indulge in vandalism of Sanatani Temples has emboldened them to target the Sanatani Community over and over again,” Suvendhu Adhikari further emphasised.
Last night miscreants vandalised 5 Sanatani Temples at Bankra; Howrah. The locals as a mark of protest are bolckading rail lines. I am requesting Shri Praveen Kumar Tripathi (IPS); Commissioner of @hwhcitypolice and DGP @WBPolice to arrest the culprits as quickly as possible.… pic.twitter.com/mSyikSIEmS
— Suvendu Adhikari • শুভেন্দু অধিকারী (@SuvenduWB) February 26, 2024
The development coincides with the Shab-e-Barat celebrations which took place on Sunday (26th February).
In visuals shared by Suvendu Adhikari, it could be seen that the temples were vandalised. A CCTV footage of the incident showed young boys sporting skull caps reportedly involved in vandalism.
After the matter came to light, local Hindus staged a protest on Monday (26th February) morning. The angry demonstrators also blocked the rail lines, demanding an immediate arrest of the culprits.
Last Night during Shab-e-Barat local Muslims of Domjur VS and parts of South Howrah VS vandalised local temples, local water taps . A handful of Rohingyas settled in that area.
From early morning today local hindus especially females started protesting* and blocked areas. pic.twitter.com/ZnL1nRTQ2U
A large contingent of police was deployed in the area to contain the law and order situation.
Violence in Sandeshkhali
On 8th February this year, hundreds of women in Sandeshkhali took to the streets to protest against land grabbing, non-payment of wages and sexual violence committed by Trinamool Congress goon Sheikh Shahjahan and his two aides Shiba Prasad Hazra and Uttam Sardar.
The women attacked Shahjahan’s illicitly obtained properties and set fire to a poultry farm owned by Shiba Prasad Hazra. They also surrounded the Sandeshkali police station and demanded the immediate arrest of the trio. The agitation in the village lasted for 3 days.
During that time, the TMC goons retaliated and the police acted as mute spectators. In several cases, the cops themselves resorted to harassment of the women. It had come to light that the residents were the subject of sexual violence by the TMC for a long time.
On 10th February, the local police imposed Section 144 in various areas in Sandeshkhali and also banned the use of the Internet in 16 panchayats scattered over the two blocks of Sandeshkhali-I and Sandeshkhali-II.
In a bid to pacify the angry villagers of Sandeshkhali, the TMC leadership suspended Uttam Sardar from the party for six years. The suspended TMC leader and Zilla Parishad member was subsequently arrested in the Sandeshkhali police station area.
The Mamata Banerjee-led-TMC government arrested a former CPI(M) MLA named Nirpada Sardar in connection to the case on 11th February. BJP leader Vikas Singh, who happens to be the Convenor of the Basirhat Lok Sabha constituency, was also arrested in connection to the women’s protest against TMC goons.
On 17th February, the police arrested TMC leader Shibu Prasad Hazra over land grabbing and sexual exploitation of women in Sandeshkhali. The primary accused Sheikh Shahjahan, is still on the run from the law enforcement authorities.
On Monday, 26th February, veteran singer Pankaj Udhas passed away. The legendary Ghazal singer was 72 years old. His family members conveyed the news of his demise. In a statement to the media, they wrote, “With a very heavy heart, we are saddened to inform you of the sad demise of Padmashri Pankaj Udhas on February 26, 2024, due to a prolonged illness.”
Veteran Ghazal singer Pankaj Udhas passes away due to a prolonged illness, confirms his family. pic.twitter.com/4iIwZhsscK
Pankaj Udhas was born on May 17, 1951, in Jetpur, Gujarat. He began his career in 1980 with the release of Aahat, a Ghazal album. He soon became synonymous with ghazal music in India. In Bollywood, the ghazal singer performed the legendary song Chitthi Aayee Hai for Sanjay Dutt’s film ‘Naam’.
Pankaj Udhas recorded several albums and held numerous live concerts over the years, boosting his standing among fans. Pankaj Udhas was honoured with India’s fourth-highest civilian award, the Padma Shri. Udhas is accredited with popularising Ghazal singing across the country.
Taking to his Instagram account, popular singer Sonu Nigam wrote, “One of the most important part of my childhood, is lost today. Shri Pankaj Udhas ji, I will miss you forever. My heart cries knowing that you are no more. Thank you for being there. Om Shanti.”
Sandeshkhali in West Bengal’s 24 Pargana (North) has been on the boil for a couple of weeks. It grabbed media attention after a mob of Shahjahan Sheikh supporters brutally attacked the Enforcement Directorate (ED) officials on January 5, when the latter went to conduct a raid at the TMC leader’s house as part of an investigation into the ration scam. The tension escalated when several locals, especially women, took to the streets to protest against the rampant incidents of sexual assault and land grabbing being carried out by absconding TMC leader and Mamata Banerjee’s close aide Shahjahan Sheikh and his goons.
Calcutta HC rebukes WB authorities, cancels stay on Shahjahan Sheikh’s arrest
In the latest development, the Calcutta High Court on Monday cancelled the stay on the arrest of TMC leader and Sandeshkhali villain Shahjahan Sheikh.
Reprimanding the West Bengal authorities for their alleged inaction regarding the allegations, noting that the incidents were reported four years ago, the court said that the absconding TMC leader should be arrested.
“It is surprising to note that incidents in the area were reported to state police four years ago and that it has taken four years for the cases to mature into 42 chargesheets”, the High Court said.
The court further asserted, “A wrong impression has been created as if an interim order of stay of arrest has been given. There is nothing on record to say that such a stay is in place. Therefore he should be arrested.”
The court also asked officials to issue a public notice in newspapers informing that legal actions had been initiated against Shahjahan Sheikh.
Locals ransack TMC panchayat leader Shankar Sardar’s house
On Monday, fresh protests broke out in several areas of West Bengal’s troubled Sandeshkhali, after locals ransacked the properties of TMC leaders, accused of tormenting the villagers for a very long time.
According to a senior police official, angry residents of Sandeshkhali’s Bermajur area attacked a few houses with sticks to vent their resentment towards Shankar Sardar, the local TMC panchayat head, accused of land grabbing.
The angry women protestors told the media that Shankar Sardar forcefully acquires their land and houses. “He snatches away our Aadhar cards and other documents and takes away our land and property. We want him arrested,” a woman protestor said.
Reportedly, Shankar was not at home at the time of the attack but his family members were beaten up by the villagers.
In another important development, Ajit Maity, a TMC leader and a close aide of absconding Shahjahan Sheiks, was arrested following massive protests against him by women in trouble-torn Sandeshkhali. It may be recalled that on Friday, February 23, visuals emerged of angry Sandeshkhali villagers, including women breaking through fences; and physically heckling and thrashing Ajit Maity. The women were seen using slippers to beat the TMC leader. Prior to this, the protestors had also ransacked the TMC leader’s house.
Amusingly, after the beating the TMC leader, who is accused of being involved in land grabbing and extortion, locked himself up in someone else’s house. Despite the owner asking him to leave Maity did not come out for the next four hours.
Villagers in Bermajur also tried to prevent police vehicles from passing through the area. A woman protester told news agency ANI, “We did not stop them initially. We just wanted to talk to them about why they were detaining our boys without any charge. They did not listen. The police vehicle ran over a woman’s feet. We want to talk to them.”
On February 25, following the massive protest by locals demanding his arrest, the Trinamool Congress removed Ajit Maity from his post of party’s Anchal President. Pertinent to note that Maity is a TMC MLA from Paschim Medinipur’s Pingla Assembly constituency. Maity’s removal from the post was also confirmed by West Bengal Minister Partha Bhowmick who is on a visit to violence-hit Sandeshkhali.
West Bengal police, in a damage control mode, free playground grabbed by TMC strongman Sheikh Shahjahan
Notably, only three days ago reports emerged on how TMC strongman Sheikh Shahjahan had grabbed an entire playground for two years, preventing the local youths from playing in the public ground. Sheikh Shahjahan and his goons had illegally occupied the Rishi Aurobindo Mission ground in the area, constructed a wall around it preventing entry of people by locking the gate, and hosted sports tournaments on it. However, as the protests led by women against the TMC goons intensified in Sandeshkhali, the ground was freed, in a damage control move by the government.
The lock was broken and Sheikh Shahjahan’s name was removed from the gate and the wall built around the encroachment before returning the parcel of land to the locals after a long time.
The residents of the hamlet were furious with the illegal confiscation but couldn’t protest out of fear as they were intimidated and assaulted otherwise. As a result, they were forced to endure everything in silence.
Sandeshkhali protest
On 8th February this year, hundreds of women in Sandeshkhali took to the streets to protest against land grabbing, non-payment of wages and sexual violence committed by Trinamool Congress goon Sheikh Shahjahan and his two aides Shiba Prasad Hazra and Uttam Sardar.
The women attacked his illicitly obtained properties and set fire to a poultry farm owned by TMC leader Shiba Prasad Hazra. They also surrounded the Sandeshkali police station and demanded the immediate arrest of the trio. The agitation in the village lasted for 3 days. On 17th February, the police arrested Shibu Prasad Hazra over land grabbing and sexual exploitation of women in Sandeshkhali. The primary accused Sheikh Shahjahan is still on the run from the law enforcement authorities.
The Tripura government suspended Prabin Lal Agrawal, the state’s principal chief conservator of forests (wildlife and ecotourism), on Saturday (24th February) following a controversy over the naming of a zoo couple of lion and lioness as Akbar and Sita, respectively. The suspension came after the VHP filed a suit with the Calcutta High Court, stating that the names hurt the religious sentiments, of the community.
According to the reports, on 12th February, the lion and lioness were transported to North Bengal Wild Animals Park in Siliguri from Tripura’s Sepahijala Zoo as part of an animal exchange initiative.
Agrawal, a 1994 batch IFS officer, was then Tripura’s top wildlife warden. When he sent the lion couple to Siliguri, he wrote their names as Akbar and Sita in the dispatch registry.
This provoked a public outcry, prompting the VHP’s Bengal unit to file a PIL at the Calcutta High Court’s Jalpaiguri Circuit Bench on 21st February. The High Court judges ruled that the lion pair’s names be changed.
However, the Bengal Forest Department explained that the names were provided by Tripura, and any changes were the responsibility of the Tripura Zoo officials. VHP then filed a writ suit before HC, arguing that the names were illogical and involved blasphemy.
The Calcutta High Court had expressed displeasure at the naming of the big cats and had asked the authorities to change the names.
The court asserted, “Mr Counsel, will you name your own pet after some Hindu God or Muslim Prophet? I think, if any one of us had been the authority, none of us would have named them Akbar and Sita. Can anyone of us think of naming an animal after Rabindranath Tagore? Sita is worshipped by a larger section of this country. I also oppose naming the lion after Akbar. He was an efficient, successful and secular Mughal Emperor.”
“You could have named it Bijli or something like that. But why give such names of Akbar and Sita,” the Court further questioned.
In response, the Tripura government sought clarification from Agrawal, who denied referring to the lion couple as Sita and Akbar. An investigation discovered that the names were submitted by Tripura wildlife officials during the animal exchange programme, which resulted in Agrawal being suspended.
In yet another action against illegal encroachment, the Lucknow Development Authority (LDA), Lucknow Municipal Corporation (Nagar Nigam) and the police initiated bulldozer action on illegal constructions in Lucknow’s Akbarnagar. Several marked illegal houses and shops are being bulldozed on Monday (26th February). Notably, several houses, madarsas and shops have been illegally constructed in Akbarnagar I and II on the Kukrail River.
In the visuals coming from the demolition site, the Lucknow Nagar Nigam and LDA teams are undertaking the second phase of the demolition drive amidst police presence ensuring law and order. Notably, the authorities are clearing the illegal constructions as the beautification work of riverbed areas around Lucknow is underway.
— निष्पक्ष प्रतिदिन | Nishpaksh Pratidin (@Nishpakshprati1) February 26, 2024
Notably, the illegal houses and shops belonging to those who have not filed a plea in the high court challenging LDA’s action are being razed. A Jagran report says that there are 1068 residential illegal constructions in Akbarnagar I and II. Many big illegal houses up to four storeys and madrassas have been built in it.
Bulldozer action after high-level meeting
The authorities are clearing illegal construction in Akbarnagar after a high-level meeting of several officials including Divisional Commissioner Dr Roshan Jacob, DM Surya Pal Gangwar, Municipal Commissioner Inderjit Singh, LDA Vice President Dr Indramani Tripathi was held on Saturday (24th February). Following the meeting, the legal section examined the documents related to the Akbarnagar illegal encroachment case.
High Court had allowed demolition action against illegal constructions of those who have not appealed against it
On 21st February, the Allahabad High Court permitted the Lucknow Development Authority (LDA) to take action against illegal occupants who have not moved high court.
A division court of Justice Vivek Chaudhary and Justice OP Shukla issued the ruling, which diluted a single bench order issued on 21st December last year, that stopped the state and LDA from dispossessing all Akbarnagar occupants.
While hearing writ petitions filed by 800 occupants, the division bench stated: “It is made clear that the LDA is free to take action against persons who have not approached this court.”
Notably, around 101 illegal showrooms have been built on the two sides of Ayodhya Road. The LDA had on 13th October 2023 issued orders under Section 27(1) of the Uttar Pradesh Urban Planning and Development Act, 1973 to demolish the illegal structure, which was stayed by the High Court. Recently, the High Court granted the LDA permission to demolish such illegal structures that had not filed a plea with the High Court.
On 25th December last year, it was reported that the LDA had demolished several illegal houses in Akbarnagar. Before this, the High Court had stayed the demolition drive till 22nd January 2024. A report says that nearly 2500 illegal houses mostly belonging to Muslims were bulldozed back then.
The order was following the Gomti Riverfront Project, which was approved by the CM Yogi Adityanath-led government in 2017 and focuses on beautifying riverbed areas surrounding the capital including Akbarnagar I & II.
Before ordering demolition, the Lucknow Development Authority declared settlements in Akbarnagar I&II to be illegal encroachments and ordered their eviction in August.
Meanwhile, several residents of Akbarnagar filed a writ petition claiming ownership saying that they have been residing there for around 40 years However, the LDA contended that Akbarnagar residents cannot claim ownership of a riverbed.
Petitioners claim to be ‘poor’, LDA submits list of 72 millionaires to the High Court
Interestingly, while several petitioners had informed the high court that they were poor, the Lucknow Development Authority submitted a list of 72 millionaires in the area who have been illegally occupying the govt land to the high court.
According to GST and income tax returns data, the daily income of the owners of these showrooms constructed after encroaching the Kukrail River ranges between Rs 15 and 20 lakh. Their documents suggested an annual turnover of up to Rs 3 crore, Jagranreported. Notably, the high court bench had earlier asked the petitioners to file their GST and income tax returns and the property details. Subsequently, 13 petitioners filed the information as asked while others sought time for the same.
The owners of these alleged illegal showrooms have five to six bungalows in numerous localities, including Gomti Nagar. Notably, Gomti Nagar is one of the posh areas of Lucknow.
Notably, the Uttar Pradesh government is taking strict action against illegal encroachments across the state. On 14th February, the Bareilly Development Authority (BDA) conducted a demolition drive to clear illegal colonies in the area. Five illegal colonies were being constructed in Zulfikar village near Pilibhit road. The BDA team arrived at the encroachment site and bulldozed the illegal colonies.
A trust associated with the UK’s National Health Scheme (NHS) has said that the unnatural breast milk produced by men who transitioned to women is as good for babies as milk from a genetic female.
As per reports, this was revealed through a leaked letter from the University of Sussex Hospitals NHS Trust. Notably, the milk produced by men who have transitioned to women is produced after taking a combination of drugs and hormones.
The health officials went a step further to state that “the term human milk is meant to be neutral and is not gender-biased”. This prompted critics to reportedly file a formal complaint against the “progressive” hospital group.
Moreover, the hospital proudly stakes claims to be the first to use the “gender-inclusive term chestfeeding”. It explained that men who transition to women can develop lactation partly by taking the hormone progestin, which develops a biological male’s already existent but typically dormant milk-producing glands.
Furthermore, drugs like domperidone, given to biological women struggling to breastfeed, help stimulate the production of prolactin, another hormone that tells the body to produce milk.
Notably, domperidone is not intended for this use and can be transferred to the baby through breastfeeding and can potentially affect the baby’s heart. Despite this, the University of Sussex Hospitals NHS Trust said the practice is safe.
Domperidone is known widely by its brand name Motilium, which says that only small amounts of the medication may be detected in breastmilk even though it adds that the medication “should be used during breastfeeding only if your physician considers this clearly necessary.”
A think tank named Policy Exchange has lashed out at the NHS trust calling it “unbalanced” and “naive”.
“This letter is unbalanced and naïve in its assertion that the secretions produced by a male on hormones can nourish an infant in the way a mother’s breast milk can,” the think tank told The Telegraph, as per reports.
They added, ““A child’s welfare must always take precedence over identity politics and contested belief systems that are not evidence-based. The NHS should not be indulging in this nonsense.”
Association of American Physicians and Surgeons in a response to the New York Post said that it’s reckless to try and experiment this on babies.
“I think it’s pretty reckless to try and experiment this on babies. Have they really analyzed the effect this has on the milk? Have they analyzed the effect on the baby?” she said, adding she wouldn’t know what kind of effects might be experienced by the person taking the hormone.
Interestingly, this saga comes a year after it faced a complaint filed by the Children of Transitioners, a so-called organisation that advocates for children whose parents have transitioned genders.
In response to the complaint, the hospital referred to the World Health Organisation’s guidance and “overwhelming evidence” that “human milk” overall is better for a baby than formula milk.
It referenced a 2022 study that found “milk testosterone concentrations” were under 1% with “no observable side effects” in the babies.
Now, the trust has since removed its new guidance touting breastfeeding by men who have transitioned to women. It now has linked its web page to the breastfeeding group La Leche League, which it states “supports everyone who wants to breastfeed or chestfeed in reaching their goals.”
Moreover, La Leche League is itself a proponent of transgender and “non-binary” parents.
However, a hospital representative reportedly said the trust “stand[s] by the facts of the letter and the cited evidence supporting them.”
Gender affirmation is the underlying ideology that has been propagated by the woke, left-liberals of the West to justify the toxic alteration of human biology altogether. This is not the first such instance.
There are reports published by the US’s National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI) with case studies to show how “for transgender women and nonbinary people on estrogen-based, gender-affirming hormone therapy, the ability to nourish their infants through production of their own milk” can be a “profoundly gender-affirming experience”.
Another website called The Lactation Network in its FAQs section for “trans and non-binary” parents says that “you do not need to have given birth to be able to breastfeed”.
Delhi Chief Minister, and Aam Aadmi Party chief Arvind Kejriwal told the Supreme Court on Monday, February 26, that he made a mistake by retweeting a defamatory video posted by propagandist German YouTuber Dhruv Rathee in 2018.
Following this statement by Arvind Kejriwal’s lawyer, the Supreme Court restrained a trial court not to take any coercive steps against the Delhi Chief Minister in a 2018 defamation case wherein he retweeted a video by Dhruv Rathee.
Back in 2018, YouTuber Dhruv Rathee posted a tweet during the hearing of the case in the Supreme Court, accusing the founder and operator of an X (At that time Twitter) page called ‘I Support Narendra Modi’ of acting like ‘BJP IT Cell Part 2’. Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal retweeted this tweet, which led to the account’s founder moving a defamation plea against the Delhi Chief Minister.
A bench of justices Sanjiv Khanna and Dipankar Datta, without issuing notice on a plea of Mr Kejriwal challenging a Delhi High Court order which upheld summons issued to him as an accused in the criminal defamation case, asked the complainant whether he wanted to close the matter in view of the Chief Minister’s apology.
The Supreme Court asked the complainant in the case to take instructions if the same can be closed based on Kejriwal’s admitting to the mistake. Advocate for the complainant, Raghav Awasthi, agreed to the same.
The bench also asked the trial court not to take up the defamation case involving Mr Kejriwal till March 11.
Senior advocate Abhishek Singhvi, appearing for Arvind Kejriwal, said, “I can say this much that I made a mistake by retweeting.”
Earlier, in its judgment dated February 5, the High Court had said that reposting libelous content would attract the defamation law. The High Court had said a sense of responsibility has to be attached while retweeting content about which one does not have knowledge and added that retweeting of defamatory content must invite penal, civil as well as tort action if the person retweeting it does not attach a disclaimer.
During the hearing of the case in the Supreme Court, Kejriwal’s lawyer Singhvi said, “They are prosecuting me (Kejriwal) very fast. They are hotfooting it. We will request for an adjournment before the trial court.”
When Justice Khanna said that Arvind Kejriwal need not appear in the court, Advocate Singhvi said, “In the context of elections, they are expediting the trial.”
Notably, Arvind Kejriwal’s party has 1 Lok Sabha MP currently, as we approach the Lok Sabha elections in few weeks.
The three now-repealed agriculture reforms (Farm Laws) aimed to modernise the sector by reducing dependency on middlemen. The Modi government’s visionary step would have directly benefited the farmers. However, the ambitious move was forced away from reality as the “farmer leaders” claimed it would undermine the traditional mandi system during the first farmer protest. The government of India asserted that the reforms would empower the farmers. It ensured they would receive fair prices for the products, but the protesting farmers did not budge and forced the government to withdraw the laws.
One of the now-repealed acts was the Farmers’ Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Act or FPTC Act. The government of India enacted it to give farmers the freedom to sell farm produce anywhere in the country, within APMC mandis or outside them. It also allowed the setting up of an electronic platform to sell and purchase farm produce. There was a provision to prescribe modalities for registering traders and trade transactions in trade areas. In short, it would help the farmers by providing them with a broader market without forcing them to sell the produce in AMPC mandis. Interestingly, in case the system did not work as intended, there also was a provision for government intervention. However, the farmer unions claimed that the government planned to destroy the NDI system.
After forcing the government to backtrack the farm laws which were meant to protect farmers from the exploitation of middlemen at Mandis during farmer protest 1.0, the farmers are again on the streets, claiming that 87% of the product is “exploited” at the Mandis. The same Mandis that the farmers aimed to protect during the previous protests caused thousands of crores of rupees worth of losses to the businesses in and around Punjab, Haryana, and Uttar Pradesh.
It is pertinent to note that as during the first Farmer protest, this time around as well, the majority of the so-called farmers protesting are those from Punjab, not from the rest of the country. Further, it is also pertinent to note that several nefarious elements in these protests have not only raised demands for Khalistan but also turned violent attacking police officials.
In a press conference by the farmer leaders during the protest on 25th February, union leader Jagjeet Singh Dallewal and others voiced concerns over the World Trade Organisation’s policies that bar the participating countries from giving subsidies beyond certain levels. Notably, the Modi government has been steadfast in defending India’s agriculture policies on the international stage, particularly when it comes to WTO. However, the farmer leaders believe India’s agriculture sector should not be part of the WTO. One of their main demands is that India withdraw its agriculture sector from the WTO.
In a statement, Dallewal said, “The policies of WTO are not favourable to Indian farmers. Without the guarantee of a minimum support price (MSP), farmers can’t survive”. While their statement reflected a broader apprehension that the global trade agreements affect the local agriculture trade, the GoI’s position at WTO has been to defend Indian farmers’ interests staunchly. The GoI has repeatedly argued against the push to eliminate MSP and subsidies considered lifelines for the agricultural community. However, there are certain limits to giving MSP, which the GoI itself cannot cross to ensure other sectors don’t get neglected while forming national policies and fund allotment.
Regarding India’s stand at WTO, the government has actively engaged in negotiation to ensure that India’s food security concerns and the rights of its farmers are not compromised. India has highlighted at WTO how its public stockholding (PSH) program has supported global food security and countered developed countries’ claims of trade distortion. India has distributed 58 million tons of rice to 800 million beneficiaries in 2021. The government secured its food security and contributed to global stability as it averted a spike in rice prices that would have adversely impacted smaller countries.
Ignoring India’s consistent stand in favour of the farmers on the international stage, the leaders of the farmer protest have demanded MSP for all 23 crops. With their demand, they have overlooked the complex economic and logistic challenges such a policy would bring to the table. Sarwan Singh Pandher, one of the frontrunners of the ongoing farmer protests, called for a legal guarantee of MSP and demanded that India exit the WTO. However, the demand reflected the heightened emotions around the farmers’ issues without considering a broader perspective of the country’s economy.
Their demands do not fully account for the implications on India’s trade relationships with other countries and economic policies. Recently, the government proposed to purchase five crops at MSP for five years if the farmers agreed to diversify the crops in Punjab. Had the farmers agreed, it would have helped the state to step away from water-intensive crops like wheat and paddy. However, the farmers rejected the proposal, claiming it “lacked clarity”.
Farmers claimed that the crops that do not have MSP are being sold at a much higher price in the market, which deserves a debate. They claimed that the farmers get exploited at the mandis and have to sell non-MSP crops at a much lower price than expected. They might be right in their statement, but it has to be argued that these farmer unions opposed GoI’s agriculture laws favouring mandis. Indian government wanted to give farmers a broader market to sell their crops at the prices they agreed to the private sector. Mandis would have continued to function as the government had promised. However, the farmers claimed the government wanted to end the Mandi system and asserted it would be against their welfare.
Farmer leaders claimed that the government of India is only buying six per cent of the total produce. On the contrary, GoI said it buys around 13 per cent of the total produce under MSP. Farmer unions demand that 100 per cent of the produce be bought under MSP, which is not feasible. It will put extensive pressure on the government, forcing it to divert the funds allotted for the other sectors to the agriculture sector.
Dallewal, in his statement, cited old reports from the 80s and 90s that should be considered obsolete. The fact is, in the past ten years, the government of India has increased MSP on two main crops, paddy and wheat. In reply to an RTI submitted by OpIndia, the GoI revealed that MSP increased from Rs 1,350 per quintal for wheat in 2013-14 to Rs 2,015 in 2022-23. Similarly, it was increased from Rs 1,345 per quintal for paddy to Rs 2,060 per quintal in 2022-23.
It shows GoI is committed to supporting farmers to every possible extent. Furthermore, the Indian government provides subsidies on seeds, fertilisers, and other products to ensure farmers get all possible support. However, all the efforts go in vain as farmer unions continue to put unrealistic demands on the table.
Interestingly, during the press conference, farmer leader Jaswinder Singh Longwal urged “supporters sitting in foreign countries” to come forward and help them fulfil their demands. While he did not specify which “supporters” he was hinting towards going according to the history of the farmer protests, the so-called supporters cannot be good for India. In the previous protests, Mo Dhaliwal, Canadian PM Justin Trudeau, Greta Thunberg and even Rihana and porn star-turned-actor Mia Khalifa tried to meddle with India’s affairs by using their respective positions on the international stage.
Nitasha Kaul, a controversial ‘activist’ invited by the Congress government in Karnataka to speak at a ‘Constitution and National Unity’ conference, was deported to the United Kingdom after landing at Bengaluru airport.
The Indian-origin ‘academician’ and ‘author’ took to X (formerly Twitter) on Sunday (25th February) to go on a rant against the Modi government.
Kaul thereafter compared her situation with that of Tibetans and Ukrainians living in exile and cast aspersions on the Indian democracy.
IMPORTANT: Denied entry to #India for speaking on democratic & constitutional values. I was invited to a conference as esteemed delegate by Govt of #Karnataka (Congress-ruled state) but Centre refused me entry. All my documents were valid & current (UK passport & OCI). THREAD 1/n pic.twitter.com/uv7lmWhs4k
The Twitter meltdown was rather expected, given the fact that she was denied a platform to undermine India’s sovereignty and peddle her propaganda against the country’s Union territory of Jammu and Kashmir.
Nitasha Kaul, who holds a British passport, has a long history of disseminating falsehoods against India on international platforms and further Pakistani propaganda on Kashmir.
In February 2019, she was seen falsely claiming that the Indian media was justifying violence against the residents of Jammu and Kashmir. Nitasha Kaul alleged that Kashmir was somehow not a part of India before India’s Independence and expressed support for Article 370.
Screengrab of the tweet by Nitasha Kaul
Nitasha Kaul has been invited as an ‘academic’ by Indian varsities such as OP Jindal and Ashoka. Interestingly, she had also prepared course material wherein Kashmir was labelled as an ‘Indian-occupied region.’ The matter first came to light in November 2021.
Nitasha Kaul also compared the plight of Muslims in Kashmir with that of Muslims in Xinjiang province under the Communist regime of Xi Jinping in a 2020 article dubbed ‘China : Xinjiang :: India : Kashmir.’
Uyghur Muslims in Xinjiang face religious persecution and cannot practice their Faith. They are not allowed to pray, are force-fed pork, enrolled in re-education camps and have a ban on religious clothing.
On the contrary, Muslims in Kashmir openly practice their Faith, offer prayers at mosques, and celebrate Islamic festivals without fear. The Indian government has launched various schemes for the welfare of the residents of Kashmir.
Thus the comparison between Kashmir and Xinjiang is not only superfluous and devoid of merit but also downplays the plight of Uyghur Muslims in Xinjiang.
Justification of Terrorism
The anti-India ‘activist’ was seen making a case for radical Islamic terrorism in Kashmir by downplaying acts of terror as a ‘right to protest’ against supposed ‘repression’ by the Indian government.
She shared the statement made by Islamic terrorist Riyaz Ahmad Naikoo, to rationalise his acts of terror and crimes against humanity, following his death.
“”Yes, we have chosen the path of armed struggle, but primarily, we are for peace, not war,” he said. “It is the nature of the occupying Indian state that has compelled us to resort to violent methods of resistance,”” the tweet by Kaul read.
“Yes, we have chosen the path of armed struggle, but primarily, we are for peace, not war,” he said. “It is the nature of the occupying Indian state that has compelled us to resort to violent methods of resistance.”’
— Professor Nitasha Kaul, PhD (@NitashaKaul) May 6, 2020
She was seen glorifying Islamic terrorist Burhan Wani, who was gunned down by Indian security officials, in a vicious article published in July 2016.
The terror apologist wrote, “Kashmir is a territory that has been held by force by its neighbours against the will of the majority of the Kashmiris, and hence, both India and Pakistan most fear an indigenous freedom movement that is now firmly entrenched in Kashmiri soil. Burhan Wani was just one prominent example of this sentiment.“
Nitasha Kaul further claimed, “The hundreds of thousands of Kashmiris who gathered for the funeral of Burhan Wani, whom they saw as a freedom fighter and the Indian state saw as a terrorist, are speaking loud and clear by their presence in the public sphere at the risk of death and injury – ‘we do not want to be the disposable bodies for the performance of your ‘democracy’, you do not represent us, we want freedom’.“
Screengrab of the tweet by Nitasha Kaul
She also justified terrorism in the Kashmir Valley as an act of resistance in her 2020 book titled ‘Future Tense.’ An article in Countercurrents describes Nitisha Kaul’s anti-India propaganda as –
“What compels a Kashmiri towards resistance and fundamentalism is the essential subtext of Future Tense. This novel is a story of former militant’s son, Fayaz and a girl known as Shireen. In the novel, Imran, a nephew of Fayaz is a young student. He gets radicalized at the hands of oppressors. This oppression compels him to join a new kind of spectacular resistance. The novel is a quintessential resistance novel.”
Meltdown after abrogation of Article 370
Months after the abrogation of Article 370, Nitasha Kaul gave a written submission before the US House Foreign Affairs Committee on South Asia Human Rights in October 2019.
The anti-India propagandist exploited the opportunity to allege that the Modi government was being a ‘colonial’ power and denying ‘freedom’ and the ‘right to access to the internet’ to Kashmiris.’
She also downplayed terrorism in the Kashmir Valley as an ‘armed uprising’ against the Centre, besides denying the role of Islamic terrorists in the mass exodus of Kashmiri Pandits from their homeland.
Congress govt in Karnataka invited a Pak-ISI agent, Nitasha Kaul, for a talk. Nitasha in her 2019 testimony to a US House of Representatives panel on HR in South Asia, constantly referred to Jammu & Kashmir as "Indian-administered Kashmir". Traitors! https://t.co/JtIhzFaOMupic.twitter.com/fUZcX3Vb0R
— Stop Hindu Hate Advocacy Network (SHHAN) (@HinduHate) February 25, 2024
“Dear Chair and other members, as you would appreciate, the internet is not a luxury in today’s world. It is essential to survive in modern society. Without access to the internet, millions of Kashmiris have been deprived of means to access information and be active citizens of the world.…Justification of denial of freedom through the promise of development is not only anti-democratic but outrightly colonial...During the beginning of armed uprising against the Indian state, following on from the widely reported electoral riggings in 1987, the mass migration of Kashmiri Pandits occurred,” the written submission read.
Nitasha Kaul spreads lies about RSS
In December 2015, she was seen spreading falsehoods about the Rashtriya Swayamsewak Sangh (RSS) during an interview of Ram Madhav with controversial Al Jazeera host Mehdi Hasan.
“The RSS and the BJP, they work hand in glove with each other. The RSS actually has camps where young boys and girls are trained in the use of weapons. There is evidence of this, well documented, where they are taught and they’ve made statements such as we will build bombs, we will kill Muslims,” Nitasha Kaul claimed.
“And there is video footage recorded of Yogi Adityanath, one of their MPs, the BJP MPs, on stage with people whose supporters are asking the crowd to exhume the dead bodies of Muslim women and to rape them. And that was followed by an incident like that actually happening. So this is not somebody making things up,” she brazened out.
“That person is still an MP. The BJP, RSS, the Sangh Parivar ideology is not one of civic nationalism. It’s not one of looking at people in terms of their rights. It is very much along a socially regressive, community-based notion of rights,” the anti-India propagandist further remarked.
In March 2017, she equated RSS to a terror organisation. Nitasha Kaul tweeted, “RSS, the right wing paramilitary organisation in #India that breeds terrorists & of which PM #Modi is a member. #BJP is its political wing.”
Screengrab of the tweet by Nitasha Kaul
Contrary to her baseless claims, the RSS is a cultural organisation rooted in Indian nationalism. It is focused on putting society before oneself and facilitating social cohesion under the common identity of being a ‘Bharatiya.’
Far from terrorism, it is involved in relief work in cases of natural disasters and catastrophes. The organisation also has a minority wing ‘Mulsim Rashtriya Manch’ to cater to the needs of the community.
RSS believes that all Indians are Hindus by virtue of their common ancestry and association with ‘Hindustan.’ Unlike radical Islamist outfits, RSS is not interested in creating a ‘Hindu Ummah’ and is rather focused on putting India’s cultural and nationalist stance above its own.
Nitasha Kaul behind cancellation of PM Modi’s Wharton address in 2013
The year was 2013. Narendra Modi, who was then the Chief Minister of Gujarat, was invited as a Speaker at the Wharton India Economic Forum (WIEF) in Philadelphia. The event was organised primarily by the student community at Wharton.
At that time, three Indian-origin Professors Ania Loomba, Suvir Kaul and Toorjo Ghose wrote a ‘strong letter’ against Modi to the Wharton administration.
The letter read, “This is the same politician who was refused a diplomatic visa by the United States State Department on March 18, 2005, on the ground that he, as Chief Minister, did nothing to prevent a series of orchestrated riots that targeted Muslims in Gujarat.”
Since genocide denier Nitasha Kaul is in the news talking about ‘freedom of expression’ to speak in conferences.. here is a throwback to when the then CM Narendra Modi was invited to Wharton to speak. Amongst those calling for the cancellation of his invitation.. was Nitasha Kaul pic.twitter.com/VSOOIiQjg7
The Indian-origin Professors were also able to secure the signatures of 270 people. Nitasha Kaul (listed at No.27 in the petition), described as a Professor at the University of Westminster in the United Kingdom, was one of the signatories.
This was despite the fact that the independent Special Investigation Team (SIT), constituted by the Supreme Court of India, gave a clean chit to Narendra Modi in the ‘2002 Gujarat riots case’ in April 2012.
Given that the event at Wharton was scheduled for March 2013, it meant that the Indian-origin Professors and the Penn University leadership were privy to the development 11 months ago.
Screengrab of the news report by Hindustan Times
Nevertheless, the nefarious agenda of the three Professors succeeded and the then University President Amy Gutmann gave in to the pressure mounted by them. The invitation was eventually withdrawn
It must be mentioned that the student body at Wharton was in favour of inviting Narendra Modi and the faculty of the business school did not want to upset a potential Prime Ministerial candidate.
A senior official toldHindustan Times that not a single faculty member of Wharton School wanted the talk to be cancelled. “Make no mistake, the move to not have Modi was a result of UPenn (the workplace of the three Indian origin Professors), not Wharton,” the official emphasised.
Endorsement by Pakistan
Nitasha Kaul had participated in events organised by Pakistani ISI-backed outfits such as ‘Stand With Kashmir (SWK)’ and ‘Kashmir Solidarity Movement (KSM).’
She attended anti-India events, organised by the Islamist outfit ‘Indian American Muslim Council (IAMC)’ and mouthed platitudes about ‘Indian democracy’ and ‘Hindu nationalism.’
According to the Hindu American Foundation (HAF), IAMC has links [pdf] with the banned Islamic terror outfit, Students’ Islamic Movement of India (SIMI).
Nitasha Kaul and her husband attended an anti-India event organized by the extremist Organization Indian American Muslim Council (IAMC) and Sunita Viswanath-led Hindus for Human Rights (HfHR) on topics like Indian Democracy and Hindu nationalism etc. (8/13) pic.twitter.com/6AWx8SB7UH
Besides, the Indian American Muslim Council has ties with Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) and Jamaat-e-Islami (JeI) through its founder Shaik Ubaid. The IAMC is a Jamat-e-Islami-backed lobbyist organisation claiming to be a rights advocacy group.
In the past, it had reportedly collaborated with and even paid money to various groups in the USA to get India blacklisted by the USCIRF (United States Commission on International Religious Freedom).
IAMC had been caught spreading fake news and misinformation to further the Islamist cause in India. It had also been slapped with the UAPA in 2021.
Due to her anti-India antecedents, Nitasha Kaul was invited as a guest at the Lahore Literary Festival (LLF) in July 2020. She was part of a panel discussion titled ‘Bigotry Brigade: Where is India Headed?’ alongside anti-Hindu ‘historian’ Audrey Truschke.
Her vicious piece on India was used by Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaaf (PTI), founded by Imran Khan, to go on a diatribe against Hindutva and further the dubious narrative of ‘rising Islamophobia’ in BJP-led India.
Islamophobia in India is driven by the Hindutva Ideology & is affecting millions of Muslims Muslims in India are seen as invasive pests or termites. Dr. Nitasha Kaul in her article explores the root causes of Islamophobia in the BJP-led India#IndiaARogueState#HindutvaTerroristpic.twitter.com/iUE8Q4jbrp
Kaul, who has been endorsed by Pakistan, was quick to cry Islamophobia during the visit of UK’s Prime Minister Boris Johnson at a bulldozer factory in Gujarat.
“Day minus 1, bulldozers become symbolic of fascist resembling processes against Muslims in India. Day 1, UK PM Boris Johnson lands in #India, visits a bulldozer factory in Gujarat & poses in one. This is on Indian TV, & Modi et al revel in such validation by spectacles,” she brazened out.
This allegation made by Nitasha Kaul is not rooted in reality. The BJP government has been razing illegal structures, irrespective of the faith or political affiliations of the accused. It is curious that the anti-India propagandist associates only Muslims with illegal encroachment.
Day minus 1, bulldozers become symbolic of fascist resembling processes against Muslims in India.
Day 1, UK PM Boris Johnson lands in #India, visits a bulldozer factory in Gujarat & poses in one.
— Professor Nitasha Kaul, PhD (@NitashaKaul) April 21, 2022
The illegally acquired properties of dozens of criminals and mafias have been demolished in UP, and the names include non-Muslims like Vikas Dubey, Yogesh Bhadora, Ramesh Pradhan, Badan Singh, Sundar Bhati, Vijay Mishra and many others.
In September 2022, the Uttarakhand government demolished the resort owned by the son of ex-BJP minister Pulkit Arya in connection to the murder of 19-year-old Ankita Bhandari.
Pulkit Arya is neither a Muslim student nor an activist but that did not stop the government from taking swift action against him. Kaul has deceptively tried to claim that action has been taken unilaterally against the Muslim community.
Screengrab of the tweet by Nitasha Kaul
The anti-India propagandist also mocked the death of former Chief of Defence Staff (CoDS) Bipin Rawat in December 2021. Nitasha Kaul seemed to justify his untimely death by presenting him as an ‘enemy of Kashmiris’.
Given her stance on India and justification of terrorism in the Indian Union territory of Jammu and Kashmir, social media users are now urging the Modi government to suspend her Overseas Citizen of India (OCI) card.
On Monday (26th February), Assam CM Himanta Biswa Sarma, in a fiery speech in the assembly, promised to put an end to child marriages in the state by 2026. He also asserted that he won’t allow child marriages in Assam as long as he is alive.
“Hear me carefully, as long as I am alive, I will not let child marriage take place in Assam. I will not let this happen as long as Himanta Biswa Sarma is alive…I would like to challenge you politically, I will shut down this shop before 2026,” he said while challenging his political opponents during the assembly speech on Monday.
Sarma in a post on X also mentioned specifically that the Congress in Assam was ruining the lives of minor Muslim girls by supporting child marriages for petty political gains and appeasement politics. “I will never allow this business of ruining the lives of minor Muslim girls operate in my state as long as I am alive, Congress should listen this carefully”, he wrote.
कांग्रेस के लोग सुन लें, जब तक मैं, हिमंत बिस्वा सरमा ज़िंदा हूं, तब तक असम में छोटी बच्चियों का विवाह नहीं होने दूँगा। आप लोगों ने मुस्लिम समुदाय की बेटियों को बर्बाद करने की जो दुकान खोली है उन्हें पूरी तरह से बंद किए बिना हम चैन से नहीं बैठेंगे। pic.twitter.com/3yXLi4C23o
On Friday, the State Cabinet adopted the Assam Repealing Ordinance, 2024, which repeals the British-era Marriage and Divorce Act that applies only to Muslims. Following the repeal of the Assam Muslim Marriages and Divorces Registration legislation 1935, Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma stated on Sunday that Muslim women in the state will be relieved of “torture and exploitation,” and that the legislation will also assist in ending child marriage.
“The torture, and exploitation that has been going on against Muslim mothers for so long will be ended with this bill. The Prime Minister ended triple talaq. But in Assam only because of this act, a Kazi would not have been faulted if he had registered the marriage of a below 18-year-old girl and he had gotten bail from the court. Now to give talaq will not be easy after the repeal of this act and there will no registration of marriage below 18 years old girl,” Himanta Biswa Sarma was quoted as saying by ANI.
Speaking about child marriage, the Assam Chief Minister stated that many people were arrested for underage marriage, and others were sentenced to 10-15 years in prison. “After the Lok Sabha election, one more drive against child marriage will be conducted in Assam. I will completely end the issue before 2026,” the Assam Chief Minister said. Meanwhile, AIMIM and other parties have condemned the Assam Chief Minister for abolishing the Muslim Marriages and Divorces Registration Act.
“Now, the BJP people have come, saying that they will bring reforms in Islam. No, you don’t want to bring reforms. You want to implement Hindutva. What is India’s culture? India is a country where people follow several religions and some people are atheists. Thousands of languages are spoken here, not just one,” AIMIM chief and MP Asaduddin Owaisi was quoted as saying by ANI.
